Residents want school to stay

“Please don’t close my school.”
That was the refrain Monday night when more than a dozen Pennville area residents — more than half of them students — expressed concern to Jay School Board about the potential shuttering of Pennville Elementary School.
Faced with shrinking general fund revenues from the state as a result of declining enrollment, the board and administration have been looking at a number of tough choices, including whether to close the school in Pennville and transfer those students to Redkey Elementary School.
Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome told the board Monday that enrollment drops based upon attendance in February will lead to a $420,000 decline in support from the state. 
Unless additional cuts are made in spending, the general fund year-end cash balance will drop to $1,139,000, well below the $3 million the board has targeted.
But Pennville school patrons urged the board to look elsewhere for cuts and keep their elementary school open.
“I understand how difficult these decisions are,” Kevin Wentz told the board. “Pennville has a group of people coming up with ideas (for cost cutting). How many board members are working with them?”
Wentz added, “Pennville will never recover from losing the heart of our community.”
Some of those commenting took aim at superintendent Tim Long, who has not only called for closing Pennville but also moving eighth graders to Jay County High School and making the West Jay Middle School building the home of Westlawn Elementary School.
“Let’s stop taking overseas trips,” said Joe Vinson. “What has that benefited? Jay Schools? Or Dr. Long’s resume?”

Vinson also criticized Long’s outside work helping to market soybean products for IOM Grain.
“It’s not fair that outsiders are making these calls,” said Wentz, noting that Long has never lived in Jay County.
Vinson urged changing school boundaries to boost Pennville’s enrollment, establishing latchkey and day care operations there, and making cuts in the $1.5 million in annual administrators’ salaries.
He said with additional enrollment, Pennville would be the most efficient in the school corporation.
“I’m opposed to closing any schools in Jay County,” Vinson said. “But if you’re going to close schools, you don’t close your most efficient.”
Pennville parent Nathan Springer urged the board to slow down and “come up with some new ideas” before closing schools.
“Would it be possible to have a town hall style meeting or meetings before a decision is made?” Springer asked.
That idea won favor with board members Kristi Betts and Cory Gundrum, but board member Greg Wellman was skeptical.
“There are ideas beyond the seven of us,” said Betts.
“But we have to come up with a million dollars in cuts,” responded Wellman.
“Certainly there will be more conversations to come,” board president Mike Masters had assured those commenting. “We are engaged, and we are listening. … We are Jay County.”
“We aren’t asking for special treatment,” Vinson told the board. “We’re asking for equal treatment.”
In a related matter, Long told the board that CSO Architects has begun the process of studying all Jay Schools buildings and their usage.
In other business, the board:
•Voted 6-0 with board member Beth Krieg absent to approve a long list of policy changes made to bring the school corporation into compliance with changes in state and federal laws.
•Made no changes in the student dress code after receiving results of a survey taken among parents and school staff. Board members noted that while the code needed no changes, it needs to be enforced more consistently from school to school.
•Set in motion the process to sell the former Beacon Drive-In property south of Jay County High School. The land — a little over 8 acres — will be appraised by two appraisers before it is sold as surplus property.
•Continued with the process of refinancing a little more than $13 million in debt related to the 2006 JCHS renovation project in order to take advantage of lower interest rates.
•Hired Jean Rockwell as an instructional assistant at General Shanks Elementary School, Lucas Rodden as a food service employee at JCHS, Ted Habegger as a driver education teacher and Vickie Brotherton as a food service employee at JCHS.
•Accepted the resignations of JCHS secretary Robin Hayden and JCHS instructional assistants Amber Edmundson and Elizabeth Snively.
•Approved a leave of absence for special education teacher Jan McGalliard.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Travis Theurer as freshman football coach, Larry Stultz as track coach at West Jay, Jonathan Winner as wrestling coach at East Jay Middle School, Marsi Dow as middle school assistant swim coach, Violent Current as track coach at West Jay, Kyle Love as track coach at West Jay and Edmundson as half-assistant softball coach at JCHS.
•Accepted the resignation of Theurer as seventh grade football coach at East Jay.
•Approved field trips by the JCHS cheerleaders, JCHS foreign language students, West Jay band and choir students, JCHS PVE Club members and the robotics team.
•Approved two bus requests from The Rock.